My thoughts on the Phillies season.

The Phils’ bats come back to life as they rout the Pirates, 10-3, while waiting for new member Hunter Pence to arrive.

During the night that they acquire Hunter Pence from the Astros, the Phillies’ bats decided to come out as they routed the Pirates, 10-3.

The Phils took a 1-0 lead in the first as, with a man on first, and with one man out, Chase Utley hits an RBI triple, scoring Dom Brown, who had earlier singled. The Phils then made it a 2-0 lead as Ryan Howard hits an RBI double, knocking in Utley. Two batters later, with runners on the corners, as Howard stopped at third base on a Shane Victorino single, and with still one man out, the Phils increased their lead as Raul Ibanez hits an RBI single, scoring Howard, to give the Phils a 3-0 lead, while sending Victorino on to third base. The Phils then broke the game wide open in the second as they batted around. The Phils started the inning as Wilson Valdez struck out, but reached first base as Pirates’ starter Charlie Morton threw a wild pitch. After Roy Halladay made the inning’s first out as he struck out failing to bunt Vladez over to second base, Jimmy Rollins singled, sending Valdez on to third. Now with runners on the corners and with one man out, Brown hits a grounder to second baseman Neil Walker who committed a fielding error, allowing Valdez to score, giving the Phils a 4-0 lead, while allowing Rollins to reach third base on the play. The Phils then took a 7-0 lead as Utley followed with a three-run home run, his eighth home run of the year, knocking in both Rollins and Brown. Four batters later, after Howard had flown out to left, for the inning’s second out, the Phils loaded up the base on a Victorino triple, an Ibanez walk, and Carlos Ruiz being hit by the pitch, sending Ibanez up to second base, before Valdez forced in a run with a walk, bringing in Victorino, giving the Phils an 8-0 lead, while moving both Ibanez and Ruiz up a base. The Phils then made it a 10-0 lead in the seventh as, with one man on, and with two men out, Rollins hits a two-run home run, his twelfth home run of the season, knocking in Ruiz, who had earlier walked. The Pirates finally got on the board in the eighth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Pedro Ciriaco hits a two-run double, knocking in Lyle Overbay, who had earlier walked, then stopped at third on Michael McKenry’s double and McKenry, who had just doubled, making it a 10-2 Phils’ lead. One batter later, the Pirates cut down the Phils’ lead to 10-3 as Xavier Paul hits an RBI single, scoring Ciriaco. That would be the final score as David Herndon pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

Roy Halladay (13-4, 2.44) got the win as he pitched seven shut out innings, as he gave up just one hit, while he struck out five, as he became the first NL thirteen game winner. Drew Carpenter pitched an inning, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk, striking out a batter. David Herndon pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two batters. Charlie Morton (8-6, 4.04) took the lost as he pitched only four innings, giving up eight runs, only six of which were earned, on nine hits, four walks, and a wild pitch, while he struck out four. Tony Watson pitched two 1-2-3 innings, striking out four. Jason Grilli also pitched two innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out four.

The Phils had eleven hits in the ballgame, with Chase Utley (Single, Triple, Home Run, 4 RBIs) and Shane Victorino (Single, Double, Triple) both leading the team with three hits each, each being a hit short of hitting for the cycle. Jimmy Rollins followed with two hits (Single, Home Run, 2 RBIs). Dom Brown (Single, RBI), Ryan Howard (Double, RBI) and Raul Ibanez (Single, RBI), had the other three Phils’ hits. Wilson Valdez had the other Phil RBI, forcing in a run with a bases loaded walk, as the bats’ exploded after being kept silence for two straight nights by Giants’ pitching.

The Phils (66-39, 1st East) will continue their series with the Pirates (54-50, 3rd Central) with a game later today. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Cliff Lee (9-7, 3.05), who is coming off a lost against the Padres on July 25, as he went only four innings, giving up five runs on ten hits and a walk, while striking out five, in the Phils’ 5-4 lost. He will once more go for his tenth win of the seasonl, while trying to come back from his last start. The Pirates will counter with James McDonald (7-4, 3.95), who is coming off a win against the Braves on July 25, as he went five and a third innings, giving up eight hits, while striking out nine, in the Pirates’ 3-1 win. He will be trying to cool down the Phils’ bats. The Phils will be trying to finally give Cliff Lee his tenth win of the year.

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